


Trickster

by LucyElliott



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:40:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23804761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucyElliott/pseuds/LucyElliott
Summary: After the Bifrost got wrecked, Loki faded into the darkness but he survived, still carrying the burden of his rage and disappointment towards Thor and Odin. Somewhere else, not far from him, Lisandra Evans is a talented Germanist but, most importantly, she is Jane Foster's best friend. Norse gods and heroes have no secrets from her or at least, this is what she thinks...





	1. Chapter 1

_Hi guys! I really hope you like this first chapter. Please review and let me know!_

_xx_

_L_.

**Prologue**

"I have a surprise for you." He whispered- his chest rising and falling fast- "you'll like it." He added and let his eyes melt in hers. Those were his last words but he uttered them smiling. It was a weak smile, almost imperceptible but one thing she was absolutely sure about : it was true.

_~•~•~•~_

_September 2010_

Jane was staring at her friend, frowned - a doubtful expression on her face- 

"Norse Mythology? Here at Culver?" 

Lisa nodded with enthusiasm " Could you immagine it? I can't believe it yet!" 

Her eyes almost sparkling with happiness . Jane couldn't help smiling back at her. 

"I had no idea Culver offered such a course", she added, biting her lip. 

"Me neither, to be honest". Lisa admitted. 

"I came across a flyer stuck under the windscreen weepers of my c-" 

She abruptly stopped with a sudden turn. "What the hell is going on down there?" 

The two girls joined the crowd packed in one corner of the lawn, making their way through the students. Some were sneering, others were talking to each other in a low voice. A guy, alone, in the middle, with his arms crossed on his chest, was pushing himself hard, not to burst out laughing. He was staring at something above his head, smirking.

"C'mon Eismann, why don' t you fly ?" -He asked- "we know you are a superhero! Show us your astonishing powers!" He continued. This time, mutters and laughter grew louder. A few metres upper, a skinny boy with thin lips and sharp cheekbones, partly hidden behind a pair of square - framed, black glasses- was swinging from a tree branch. "You'd better not tease me, Stanfield", he hissed , "you could-" 

The next instant, the hem of his long- sleeved t- shirt, that was keeping him suspended, suddenly ripped. The boy reflexively reached his arms out and kept his palms pulled, as if he was snatching at an invisible handhold; his body cut the air like an ice splinter and with a dull thud, he smacked ruinously into the ground.

Due to the violent collision with the ground, his glasses went to pieces and his left cheekbone tore apart, spilling dark red blood all over the grass. 

Jane widened his eyes in shock, her lips parted. For several seconds, no one dared make a sound but soon after, mocking laughs started to rise from the crowd , getting every minute more and more thunderous. Lisa clamped her jaws and set on ignoring the mocking crowd, stepped towards the boy. When she was close to him, she offered him some tissues to plug the wounded cheek. The boy cautiously raised his head and blinked. Warm blood stained the white skin of his left cheek. 

Lisa remained still in front of him but he seemed not to notice. He felt his heartbeat throbbing into his temples and his vision went blurred. He closed his eyes, sucked in a deep breath and opened them again; then, with a grimace, he pulled himself up and finally saw the girl. She waited for him to do the first move but, after he steadied himself with some effort, he surprisingly grabbed the tissues from her hands and tore them into shreds.

"I don't need any help". He stated coldly, with no trace of hesitation in his voice. His razor- sharp emerald eyes bore into her as she met his gaze , then, he turned his back to her and went away, limping slightly.

~•~•~•~

_April 2013_

Lisa slowly opened his eyes but the burning sunlight hurt her pupils and the acrid smell of medicines and disinfectant flooded into her nostrils. Reflexively, she raised her forearm and swiped a hand over her face but nor the forearm, nor the hand did second her silent request to move as they stayed just where they were, like they belonged to someone else. Frozen chills run through her spine and panic clawed at her lungs like a starving feline craving for fresh meat. Lisa swallowed hard petrified and kept her eyelids shut to hold back the tears ready to drop along her pale face.

_Ok Lis, don't lose control_. She endevoured to focus on the rhythm of her breathing, waiting for her heart to get back to his regular beat. When shivers lowered , Lisa turned her head to the window and lifted her eyelids up again. Beside her, her shoulders leant against the seatback of a wooden chair, Jane was typing something on her mobile. Lisa stared at her for a while but hardly could she recognise her best friend. The person seated next to her bed had nothing of the girl she used to know: the dimples that once passed through the corners of her rosy cheeks, had now been replaced by a hollowed and sickly greyish face. Her eyes looked listless and tired and her lively and comforting smile was now nothing but a faded memory. Lisa unclosed her lips in awe _how could that be possible?_ All of a sudden it was like twenty years had gone by in a moment. 

"Jane"- she rasped in a whisper - "what have they done to us?"

Hearing her friend's voice, Jane jerked and abruptly stood up. Tears of happiness started to stumble down her astonished face and her skinny fingers softly caressed Lisa's forehead.

"I knew it - I knew you were stronger"- she told her, smiling and weeping for joy at the same time. Lisa tried to reply but Jane pleaded with her not to tire .

"No Lis, please, don't speak", she begged her - "there will be time to explain and understand everything , that' s a promise. but now, just keep resting." Then she left the room and rushed searching for a doctor.

_to be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi guys! I've been away for a while, but now I'm back and this new chapter is all for you! Again, let me know what you think_ .  
 _Enjoy_!  
  
 _October 2013_

The rain was falling in floods and the wind kept slamming a leafless branch against the shut window of the living room. Lisa wrapped the woollen shawl tighter around her shoulders and took a few steps closer to the crackling fire.  
During those early autumn days, when the cold had gradually begun to seep through the lukewarm air, she felt like her muscles were filled with pins, like the stillness to which they had been forced for months, suddenly willing to take over again, prodded her with no rest.  
Lisa brought the cup to her lips and took a sip of hot tea. The warm fluid raced across her bones and for a moment, she loosened her nerves.  
Her eyes flickered from the flames to her friend's face. Jane smiled.  
"Whatever you need, you just have to call me. You know that, do you?" She began in a soft voice.  
"That's why I called you." Lisa replied.  
Silence filled the room for a while, then Lisa spoke again.  
"I want my life back Jane." She stated, straight to the point.  
Jane sighed deeply but didn't say a word as the other went on .  
"For all these months, I've been trying with all my strength to pick up the pieces but they just... didn't- " she paused and swiped a hand over her frowned forehead.  
"All I got was shreds, quick images, maybe memories or maybe I' m just hallucinated by the medicines." She admitted, in the end. She focused on the glimmering reflexion of the flames in the small glass table, next to the sofa.  
"Jane, she continued , the truth is that I have only a huge black hole in my mind and this ... this persistent condition is driving me mad. Really I -"  
"This is why you brought him here?" Jane cut in , hinting at the cat suddenly curled on Lisa' s knees.  
" He' s gorgeous and so... silent - she observed- praying for the tactic to work- " I didn't even see him come."  
Lisa' s lips wrinkled in a slight smile as her fingers tore through the cat's fur.  
"Last week I came home from the library and I found him on the armchair; just like he'd been waiting for me to come back."  
"And what if someone's lost him?" Jane hypothesised  
"Oh, well, if so, I will give him back to his owner but as long as he's my guest--"  
she abruptly stopped petting the cat, her gaze hardened and her jaw clamped tight. "You' re changing the subject -she uttered drily- on purpose"  
Jane swallowed hard and attempted a shallow objection. Lisa's eyes watered and she turned her head and let her hair hide the cheek that Jane could see.  
Jane felt selfish and guilty.  
"You don' t understand." Lisa whispered, her voice trembling," how could you, after all?"  
Jane stood up moving a few steps towards her friend. "I'm sorry" she simply said in the most sincere way she could. "I really am."  
Lisa did not answer and closed her eyes. plunging her fingertips deeper into the cat's fur.  
Jane breathed in and started to speak. Words slid away unstoppably from her mouth.  
"Lis, listen, you're my best friend. I saw you being in a coma and fighting for your life for twelve months, I've been at your bedside every single day, watching you getting weaker and thinner with no chance to help, then I saw you miraculously getting better and I hoped. For the first time in my life, I said prayers for you , I entered a church for you so please, don't say I cannot understand how you're feeling now."  
Her voice sounded calm and yet, while speaking, tears rolled out copiously from her eyes. she did nothing to stop them and continued  
"If I haven't told you what happened, I mean , I just did it to protect you I just want everything to go back to normal as much as you do."  
"Bullshit!" Lisa hissed all of a sudden.  
Jane paused and tilted her head, offended . "Beg your pardon?"  
Lisa finally looked at her. Her eyes narrowed .  
"Normal?" - she cried - "Normal? Nothing will ever go back to normal until you help me understand, Jane! Look at yourself! Have you looked at yourself in the mirror recently? You are grey! Your eyes are empty, your face is- is- I mean, I can' t even find a word to describe it! And what is it all about? Stress, insomnia? What?"  
Jane was staring at her, totally incapable to give her a response.  
"Ok, Enough, you won" she caved in, after Lisa had thrown all her frustration to her.  
"I did it for you, to prevent you from suffering more but if you want it, here it is. I don't know how this would affect you but you know what? I don't care." She muttered coldly. She sat on the sofa, crossed her arms around her breast and began to talk in a low measured voice.  
"You know what Mjöllnir is, do you Lis?  
"Of course I do" Lisa retorted sharply. "It is the hammer of Thor. He's supposed to be the god of thunder and son of Od- hold on"- she froze and gaped at Jane in awe. “How do you know about Mjöllnir?"  
Jane raised her eyebrows and smirked.  
"I didn't have a clue about what it was, she confessed, until we found it in New Mexico, three years ago and you made me an expert about it."  
Lisa frowned. " What is it? A joke? A kind of test to see if my long- term memory still works?" She asked bitterly. "These are only myths, legends, bed-time stories."  
Jane let her speak, opened her leather bag, took off a small camera, switched it on and after a couple of minutes, she passed it to her friend and waited for her reaction.  
Lisa observed each picture with careful eyes and as soon as she watched, astonishment and incredulity grew clearer on her face. At some point she felt like her legs were turning into jelly and leant against the wall not to fall over.  
Jane reflexively grabbed her by the arm before she could hit the floor.  
"Alright, I'm alright" she assured her. "I just need to sit."  
Lisa was in total shock.  
"Bed - time stories?” Jane asked in a challenging tone.  
Lisa stared blankly at a point in the room, without focusing on it, the camera still held in her hand.  
"That' s madness." She murmured. shaking her head. After a while she gazed at Jane  
"How did you react when I told you what it was?"  
Jane let a chuckle come out. " How do you think I reacted, Lis? I don' t even believe in God! Obviously I thought It was some mythomaniac's doing or a blasting promotional campaign for some Norse product."  
Lisa chuckled too.  
" So, what made you change your mind?" She asked then, with growing curiosity.  
At that question, Jane turned serious, swallowed hard and blushed slightly.  
"When - you know - when Thor in person demands his precious hammer back, telling you the Earth is in danger - she hesitated and put a lock of hair behind her ear- well, let' s say, you begin to ask yourself a series of questions." She concluded in deep embarrassment.  
Lisa opened her eyes wide. "And how did you know he wasn't lying? I mean we don' t know how Thor really look like, theorically anyone could pretend to be him."  
Jane cheeks were burning red she cleared her throat and tried to hide her discomfort.  
"Believe me Lis, If you had seen him...- she uttered- yeah , you have actually seen him, she added, but... I mean... you wouldn't have had any doubt about his identity.” She admitted laughing nervously.  
Lisa was unable to find a suitable reply to her friend's words. Jane put herself together and spoke again.  
"Anyway, at first I thought he was nothing but a weird cosplayer but then, he told us things no one could know and my data confirmed he was telling the truth." She explained.  
"Did he tell us what the problem was?"  
"Oh yes! Jane nodded. "He was devoured by anger and guilt, he told us about his b-her tongue suddenly dried forcing her to pause . His- banishment" , she said , sucking a breath in.  
"Thor banished from Asgard?" Lisa cut in astounded.  
"Yes, Jane went on, he said he had made an unforgivable mistake, therefore Odin had sent him here on Earth, with no powers, to meditate on his errors and be worthy to hold Mjöllnir again. "  
Lisa blinked and swallowed twice, utterly blown away by what she was hearing.  
"And did he manage?" she finally asked, eager to know. "Did he have Mjöllnir back?  
Did he come home?"  
" Ok, ok, " Jane replied, inviting her friend to calm down. "One step at a time, Lis." She declared firmly. "Yes, she continued after a pause, Thor came back to Asgard". Jane said under her breath and her face twitched for a second in a grimace of sadness.  
Lisa gulped and heaved a sigh and both remained silent, with their minds crowded with thoughts.

~•~•~•~

"Do you happen to remember Matthew Eismann" Jane abruptly asked, making Lisa wince slightly  
She tried to collect what remained of her memories but at the end , she had to give up  
"No". She admitted pretty frustrated, staring at the floor.  
Jane felt her mortification and apologised. "Forgive me Lis, she sweetly said, I've been indelicate I shouldn't have asked."  
Lisa raised her head and unclosed her lips to answer but a heavy noise of broken shards prevented her from replying .  
Tbc...


	3. Chapter 3

_Enjoy and review if you like!_

_xx_

_L._

_* The first lines you see are taken from "The devil within" by Digital daggers_

* I'll be here  
When you think you're all alone  
Seeping through the cracks  
I'm the poison in your bones  
My love is your disease  
I won't let it set you free

Till I break you...

_~•~•~•~_

**_"I'm sorry._ **

**_Matt."_ **

_"The letters, handwritten in an elegant and precise calligraphy, shone dark and lucid on the raw paper._

_Lisa delicately detached the card from the transparent plastic wrapping around the peonies and inhaled deeply the perfume of the flowers._

_It flooded so intensively into her widen nostrils, that she felt dizzy for a second and squinted. White brilliant dots danced around her eyes and when her vision finally focused, she stood up, took a sip of cold tea from the half filled glass next to her laptop and put the bunch of peonies in a crystal pot full of water._

_~•~•~•~_

_ March 2012 _

The early- spring breeze stirred Lisa's polka dots cotton dress while Matthew, crossing both his arms behind his head, laid relaxed on the grass, with his nape leant on her belly.

"What?" he gently asked sensing her eyes on him.

She smiled and swiped smoothly her fingers across his raven curls.

"Nothing", she replied, "I like watching you while you're absorbed in your thoughts."

He closed his eyes and enjoyed her caresses quietly for a while, then he sat up and gave her a long unexpected kiss. She winced at first, taken by surprise but when he put her arms around her shoulders, she felt safe in his warm hug and held on to him, plunging her lips into his.

When they finally separated, he brushed against her right cheek with his knuckles then he took her by the hand and helped her stand up.

"Come with me- he whispered- I have a surprise for you."

~•~•~•~

"Eyes shut!" he stated peremptorily.

"Mmh mmh" she answered with a nod, gripping his wrist firmly.

His hand closed around hers made her feel shielded, as if nothing and no one could have ever harmed her in any way. Although her lids were clamped, she realised the sun had gone and they had entered a closed space.

The quick lowering of the temperature gave her gooseflesh; nevertheless, she kept walking, led by the echo of his footsteps, uncaring of the cold shivers that had started to sneak into her backbone, like water through frozen pipes.

"Almost there". Matthew announced, after a short while .

His voice sounded slightly unusual to her ears but she just tilted her head and remained silent putting a foot before the other almost mechanically, struggling to ignore that strange feeling that was slowly creeping in her throat.

She swallowed hard to pull it back and sucked in a deep breath.

They kept going ahead for several minutes without speaking; then, after a straight path and a couple of detours, he finally stopped and the squeak of an opening door was the only noise that resounded in the silence.

Afterwards, Matthew heaved a sigh and with an ungraceful gesture, he abruptly unclosed his fingers and let her hand go.

~•~•~•~

Lisa lifted her lids up but even with her eyes wide open she could barely see.

She waited until her pupils got used to the darkness and when she started to distinguish the shadows, she looked around.

"Matt, darling, where are you?" She called out loud, receiving no response.

"Matthew?" She tried again.

The room was completely empty.

She moved some cautious steps forward but something got in her way and made her misbalance. Her knee bumped roughly into it and bent, and as she fell over, she felt a long iron pole hitting her ribs. Some of them cracked and her breath snagged.

Needles of pain plunged deeply into her whole body and faintness found her, totally undefended and unable to react.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hi guys! Just a few words before you start... writing this story is really thrilling me and I really hope you all can love it as I do! Please, please, please, enjoy and review so that I can feel you nearer!_

_Xx_

_L._

When Lisa came to her senses, she found herself forcibly seated on a plastic chair .

Her knee was pulsing and she felt the wet sensation of the blood dripping along her calf.

A sharp stitch cut her breath and she reflexively pushed her palm on her ribs to relieve the pain.

She fold beneath herself, trying to pull her legs to her stomach and in that exact moment, she realized that her ankles were tied up to the chair's legs by black wavering laces.

She reached out with an arm and grabbed the laces but as her fingertips touched them, a stabbing long sting rushed along her hand and wrist, making her jerk.

_What was going on and where was Matthew?!_

Lisa writhed and squirmed but the more she moved, the more the laces tightened her ankles and proliferated like ash- grey strips of smoke.

Panic invaded her guts and bile stung the back of her throat, giving her a rising sense of nausea. From each lace, two or more started to sneak along her legs, curling along her hips and shaking wrists.

Another slid between her breasts.

It got to her right collarbone.

Then, slowly, it began to wrap her neck.

Upper.

And upper.

And upper.

~•~•~•~

_October 2013_

_Matthew Eismann_... _Matthew Eismann..._

Lying on her bed, staring entranced at the intermittent light of the alarm clock , Lisa kept on repeating that name in the hope that some bit of memories could come out of her mind all of a sudden.

 _How could someone be totally forgotten_?

This thought gave her a deep shiver of fear and angst.

What if he was looking for her?

What if she had met him in the street without recognising him?

Her stomach turned over and she started to bite furiously a nail.

_Who was this guy? And why had Jane asked about him?_

Her teeth tore into the skin underneath the nail and hot scarlet drops of blood spilled out of the finger pad, leaving indelible little red spots on the pure white bed sheets.

~•~•~•~

_March 2012_

Lisa could not breathe.

The laces made her broken ribs come together and every breath she tried to take, it felt like having a dagger stuck in her chest.

As the laces were getting tighter around her neck, she was gradually losing her lucidity and her heart was throbbing so fast in her temples, that it seemed like someone was punching her brain from the inside.

Her vision got blurred by the increasing lack of air and a few seconds before it darkened, Lisa closed her eyes.

She was dying and she was perfectly aware of it.

Hot tears of resignation rolled on her cheeks and when she tasted them, for a long instant , she came back to her child days and felt the warm embrace of her mother and heard the boisterous laughter of her father in her ears. A weak smile wrinkled her lips and mixed with the salt of the tears.

Then, a sound of approaching steps pulled her back to reality. Lisa snapped her eyes open and blinked.

The laces around her neck had loosened their grip and she could finally feeding her lungs with the oxygen they were desperately asking for. She inhaled a long deep breath and swallowed. Even thought the neon lights were now buzzing and lightening all the room, she was still unable to see clearly.

Her pupils narrowed and and a male slender silhouette appeared in front of her. She blinked once more but when her vision focused again, her lips parted and she gaped, bewildered, at the tall figure who was standing opposite her.

"You!" - she gasped, almost chocking.

"Me". The man replied with a nod. His mouth twitched in a wild smirk and his eyes glimmered, crossed by a spark of madness.

~•~•~•~

_October 2013_

Lisa put a plaster on her finger and went to the kitchen to get herself a cup of tea.

Her throat was knotted and restlessness was devouring her bite by bite.

No medicines had been useful to lower her anxiety and panic attacks had started to grab her every day more frequently and intensively. Her body begged her for rest but her brain seemed not to share the same decision.

She was exhausted but she knew exactly how to solve the problem once and for all.

She poured the hot amber liquid in a cup and switched her mobile on. Jane's number was at the top of her call list. She look at it and then at the clock.

It marked three in the morning. She ground her teeth and paused for a while.

Behind her, her cat yawned and gave her a meow of annoyance, stretching out his limbs. As his front paws reached out, her claws reflexively came out sharp and curved and his back straightened with a sinuous movement.

Lisa turned to him and smiled. "Sorry for waking you up, darling", she softly said to him. "I had to make a call but , as usual, I'm out of time" . She added in displeasure.

The cat flickered his ears and fixed her blue- tinted irises on her.

She sat on the chair next to him and rubbed gently his chin with her fingernails.

The cat began to purr and she finished to drink her tea in silence. Lisa looked back at her mobile and her eye was caught by a book lying open and reversed on the kitchen floor.  
"What the heck," she muttered heaving a sigh of wonder and disapproval.

She stood up, bent on her knees and picked it up.

A thin layer of dust greyed the dark green book cover engraved with the silver letters of the title: _"History of the nine Realms_ ". Lisa frowned and tried to recall the reason why she had moved that book from the shelf in her bedroom but since no recent memories emerged, she surrendered and with a sweep of her hand, she removed the excess of dust and started to leaf through it.

She was fond of that book. She loved every single inch of it: the unevenness of the paper, the bright colours of the illustrations and the smell of printed ink that the pages disclosed at any turn.

Lisa turned slowly each page eager to catch all the details and when she was about to reach the end, she glimpsed a tiny swelling trough the paper.

It was a dried peony with white and pink streaked petals.

Lisa gasped in awe at that sight, then, she delicately put a palm under the flower and lift it up, taking it to her nose.

As the perfume spread through her nostrils, a spark- like flashback rushed along her brain: a soft quick kiss, nothing but a pair of thin lips leant on hers for a second.

Then, again, it disappeared, and her mind went totally blank.


	5. Chapter 5

March 2012

The man leered at Lisa and took a few steps forward. She arched her back and gritted her teeth, withering. A wave of anger and indignation shook her whole body. Her eyes got watery and she blinked the tears away. "You Monster!- She rasped, out of control- what have you done to Matt?!" Both her forearms spasmed under the clutch of the laces and little bloody droplets started to tickle from the skin of her wrists.

As she talked, her words seemed to drift over him like fresh water and he kept standing ahead of her, silent, beating gently his tapered fingers on the back of his other hand. When she finally paused, he spoke. His voice sounded calm and low.

"I'm glad to meet you in the end, miss Evans, he began, impatience was consuming me" - he went on with a smile. His blazing green eyes bore into her but she stared back at him with the same determined gaze. "Nevertheless, your utter lack of good manners truly stuns me." he added with a grin of mockery on his face.

At those words, Lisa's expression turned surly. Her lips unclosed ready to counter but her attempt to reply faded as he, undaunted, continued to talk.

"I was aware of the rudeness of Midgardians but I did not expect that the situation could be so-disastrous. We scarcely know each other and yet, you arrogate the right to insult me with no restr-

"I perfectly know who you are, you foolish trickster- Lisa cut in- taunting him- and I also know what you are: you are a filthy heartless bastard!" She roared, breathing hard. His jaws clenched. His hands tightened in fists.

Rage burned bright in his narrowed eyes. He stepped closer and his tall frame loomed menacingly over her. She gulped and reflexively ducked her head, looking scared for the first time. He grasped violently her chin and put his face near hers. His plunging stare crippled her to the core.

"Don't you dare, don't you dare judge me, he hissed trough his teeth - his eyes flashed , I am a god and a king. Show me the respect you owe me, you puny mortal!"

~•~•~•~

October 2013 

Lisa leaped to her feet. Her heart hammered in her chest and her mouth had dried out. She felt like she'd gone into a swoon but had just revived. "Holy crap" she muttered, breathing fast. She grabbed her mobile and unlocked the screen with trembling fingers then composed the number and held on. One.. two... three rings, seconds raced but Lisa did not gave up this time. When Jane answered the call, her voice came out drowsy but concerned.

"Lis what's going on? are you ok?"

"I'm fine Janie but I must talk to you. It' s quite urgent."

Lisa' s tone had never been so serious. Jane frowned and realized the moment had come. All at once, she felt tiny and vulnerable but she had no intention to wait any longer.

"Ok, she said, clearing her throat, give me ten minutes and I'll be there."

~•~•~•~

March 2012

Lisa winced and her breath snagged. It all felt like a horrific nightmare but it was so terribly real...everything she had been studying for years, everything she thought existing only in the millenary tales of Norse folklore was now standing at a few inches from her, in the slender figure of the god of mischief. For a long minute both of them just stared at each other. Lisa focused on the pointy lines of his face then he stepped back and let go of her. She held her gaze, her mouth was parched.

"Please tell me where he is." She pleaded with him.

One of Loki 's eyebrows raised. "Are you begging me?" He asked falsely impressed.

"Yes, she confirmed, please just tell me." Loki heaved a sigh and shook his head. "Sentimentalism- he stated- what an awful scourge it is! Brilliant minds completely blown away by the excess of insignificant feelings, brains made slave to hearts, that's quite a pity! Be that as it may, he continued, after a short pause, as you are asking it kindly, I will please you."

Once he said that, he slowly vanished in a green shining halo and the unmistakeable willowy frame of Matthew appeared in front of her . His familiar dishevelled ebony hair warmed Lisa's heart and her lips reflexively opened in a wide smile but, as she lingered over his eyes, something made her startle. They were altered. Colder. Wicked. "Matt?"- she murmured "Hello darling" he answered and his voice sounded just as Loki's. Lisa swallowed and her lower lip started to quiver . "Please, let him go!" she beseeched him. Loki came back to his features and gave her a sympathetic look.

"I'm afraid I can't" he replied, pretending to feel sorry.

She twisted her head and tears tumbled over her weary face again.

"You really don't understand , do you?" He asked "Matt has never existed. It has always been just me.

" Those words hit Lisa like a shotgun. Her body broke out with chills and his heart stood still as she gaped at him in complete bewilderment.

"What? -she gasped, breathlessly- why do you hate me so much?" Loki widened his eyes in surprise.

"Hate? Oh, not at all, quite the opposite indeed! I'm questing for something immeasurably powerful and you, my dear, have been the key who gave me direct access to a large part of this power. Not only did the boundless love you showed towards your beloved Matthew keep me alive, but it also allowed me to live here for almost two entire years, blend into the crowd and know this place better than I almost know myself. I could have never done it without you and you will forever have all my gratitude for this."

"Keep you alive?" Lisa cut in, in awe.

"Yes, he explained, Asgard is an undying source of energy for all of us. The more we get far from it the more we get weak. There is something else that can give us the same vital strength, nevertheless, it is pretty hard to find, especially for me, he added with a smirk.

"Love" Lisa said below her breath.

"Not that easy; real, unbiased love"- he specified. "Therefore , for all this time you've just been using me to survive and get information about this planet." Lisa muttered in full awareness, looking down on the marble floor.

"That is correct". He said coldly. Lisa raised her eyelids and fixed her red-rimmed eyes on him.

"Why Midgard and not somewhere else?" She demanded. "To get back what once was rightfully mine but was taken away from me!" Loki snarled in a sudden wave of rage. Lisa jerked and all her muscles tensed painfully.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, astounded. Loki tilted his head and frowned. " You keep surprising me, Lisandra Evans, I was sure you know everything about us, about me, at least, but it seems I' m wrong again."

" I do know everything about Norse mythology- Lisa retorted , irritated- I've spent my whole life studying your culture. I've read and analysed texts, poems, fragments each single line of them, I-" "Well, apparently they all lie!" Loki snarled "Beg your pardon?" "What do they say?- Loki prodded her - what do your precious books say about me?" "They say you came from the Chaos and Odin is your blood brother." Loki's veins froze. Resentment rose from his chest "Odin what? Oh, you must be kidding, there is no other explanation."

"That's not the truth?" she inquired, confused

"That's quite far from the truth. Loki hissed. "I am Laufey son , he began, walking resolutely up and down the room- and that makes me the rightful king of Jotunheim. I was only a few months when Odin, still drenched with my people's blood, found me, forsaken in a temple. He took me to Asgard and grew me up like an Aesir, feeding me with the illusion that one day I could have finally been considered their equal." Loki paused and chuckled bitterly. His cloak rustled and the thread of his boots resounded on the marble stone "But I've never had a chance - he admitted - Thor was the chosen one since the beginning, even though he put our lives in danger while I saved them, even though I deserved it more than him; I've always been unworthy to Odin, he whispered, unworthy to the throne, unworthy to his merest consideration. He deprived me of my identity and my birthright to be king. He is only a thief and a liar." Loki stopped and turned towards her . He looked wan and shaken. "This is the truth", he concluded clenching his jaws. "The rest is nothing but empty words."

Lisa opened and closed her mouth a couple of times in utter astonishment. "I've never heard about these stories". She finally managed to say after a long silence. "Reputation - Loki answered flatly- a lifetime to gain it and a second to destroy it . Odin adores been loved, venerated by the people it doesn't matter if he lies all the time." Lisa's expression remained incredulous as she tried to process what Loki had just told her. She could hardly believe a single word but he seemed so sincerely embittered... Uncertainty had seized her mind and again she had lost her clarity of thought. Loki, in the meantime, was gazing at her, poised.

"What will you do now? " She asked him, out of the blue.

"I will avenge my pride and my people just as a fair king should do."

Her mouth turned sour.

"Will you kill Thor and Odin?"

"Yes, maybe- he said with a sneer- but not before they have suffered as much as I have." Her stomach turned over and she felt sick.

"Will you kill me?" She dared ask in a whisper.

"I will". He replied, with the same scornful glance. A deep shudder passed through Lisa's body and her cracked ribs hurt heavily. Every heartbeat felt like a hammer blow. As he spoke, The black laces, awakened again and aimed dangerously at her throat. Lisa tilted her head back and moaned, terrified. "Why did you bring me here? - she cried - why didn't you kill me before?"

"Because I wanted to set you free from the ignorance in which you have been unwittingly living so far. Nobody has ever had such a privilege, you should feel honoured -he rebuked her- consider it as a farewell gift or an act of mercy, if you prefer. Never let it be said I am lacking in benevolence".

As he spoke, the laces started to constrict her larynx. Her nostrils widened and her lips unclosed to let in the air but her windpipe got blocked by the lethal grip of the bindings. "Please, don't do it." She wheezed in a broken voice but Loki's expression stood totally imperturbable in front of her slow agony . Her breaths went quick and shallow, cold sweat soaked her forehead . Afterwards, all at once, her arms got slack and her vision darkened, her face turned pale and she closed her eyes out of consciousness. Her body swayed sideways for a moment and the bindings around her wrists and neck stretched, catching her from falling. Loki took some steps ahead and the distance between them faded completely. Then he perceived something - a weak sound nearly undetectable: her heart was still beating . He jerked to a halt. His teeth clamped tight and his green irises blazed. His left hand raised and his fingers snapped open. the laces hissed and swung , ready to spring on his command . He sucked in a deep breath and his face twitched slightly. Then unexpectedly , the palm of his left hand rotated. The laces dissolved like steam and she fell down, senseless right before him .


End file.
